Year C, Ordinary 28, 2019 – Wholeness
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Hey all! Welcome to the podcast! This week, we have some stories about healing and a psalm of praise. Na’aman, a general for the king of Aram, is advised to seek out Elisha, a prophet in Samaria, for help with his leprosy. The Psalmist extols the Lord’s mighty deeds and Paul continues to encourage Timothy in his ministry. In Luke, ten lepers call out to Jesus for help. He sends them on to the priests and one of them, discovering he’d been healed, turns back to thank Jesus. Turns out, he’s a Samaritan.
Three years ago, we used the Jeremiah passage for the Old Testament text. We also were still attempting to find material for all eight intelligences for three passages. Follow this link to find other illustration than the two we are using for today.
Smarts of the Week [01:58]
This week, David is covering MATH smart or Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, and I am examining BODY smart or Kinesthetic Intelligence. For more information about Howard Gardner’s work, click the link up there on the right corner of the page. MATH smart people will be engaged by logical reasoning and numbers, and BODY smart people will be attracted to motion, especially if they are invited to move!
The Week’s Texts:
2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c – [05:06]
For BODY smart, remind your congregation about the indignity of the small, easy action of changing out of street clothes into those paper robes in an examination room. Na’aman may be experiencing this sensation when Elisha tells him to bathe in the Jordan. Turns out, this little, easy thing is the key to healing. For MATH smart, consider the logical response Na’aman’s people have to his outburst.
- BODY smart – [08:18]
- commentary by Debi Thomas
- MATH smart – [11:03]
- The king of Israel would be Dr. McCoy, in reverse. “I’m a king, not a doctor!”
- Naaman’s servants (v. 13) would be Mr. Spock (short summary; very long summary) bringing the voice of logic to the table.
- a fortiori arguments; or greater to lesser arguments
Psalm 111 – [14:42]
While Psalms are usually like catnip to WORD and MUSIC smart people, the mass of words can be simply a pile of similar words to MATH smart people. So, play to their strength and preference and make a chart or graph out of the words used in this Psalm. For BODY smart, utilize WORD (paying close attention to the definition of “heart” and “compassion”) and MUSIC and design an interpretive dance or movement. Liturgically, this could be the response to the offering or a prayer of dedication.
- MATH smart – [15:21]
- How would you graph this Psalm? arbitrary, discrete points, like a bar graph, maybe?
- as a step function?
- as a pie chart?
- BODY smart – [19:05]
- commentary by Yolanda Norton
- commentary by Wil Gafney
2 Timothy 2:8-15 – [22:27]
Paul uses WORD smart himself in the last verses of this selection. He urges Timothy to caution others not to “wrangle over words,” which made me think of Twitter or Facebook fights. Think about how we get twisted up in those and how that makes your body feel. For a BODY smart special effect, do you know anyone who is limber enough to twist up into a pretzel? Maybe doing the yoga pose Eagle? If not, then try the suggested “Word of God, Unchained” illustrations.
David continues with the idea of graphing, but this time, using Paul’s “if … then” statements in verses 11-13. He has an example of using the step function graph mentioned in the Psalm on the worksheet. Download it to see what he’s done!
- BODY smart – [23:28]
- MATH smart – [26:32]
Luke 17:11-19 – [29:45]
In these short verses, we see ten lepers call out to Jesus for mercy. Seeing them, he tells them to go show themselves to the priests. As they turn to go, they discover themselves healed! One of the ten returns to Jesus to praise and thank him. For MATH smart, present an idea of reverse decimation. Decimation was a Roman military form of discipline where every tenth man was killed by his compatriots. David has some ways to illustrate a 10th using familiar situations. I like the ones using baseball.
For BODY smart, consider that as the ten lepers turned to go see the priests, they were still unclean. It was as they obeyed Jesus that they were healed and cleansed. We are still sick when we leave Urgent Care; it is only in following the prescription given by our doctors that we begin the process of getting well.
- MATH smart – [30:56]
- BODY smart – [34:45]
- commentary by Dennis Sanders
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash; used by permission.
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